“The core problem has been ticket revenues, which were weakening even before the coronavirus pandemic shuttered its theater with a devastating financial impact. Box-office receipts last year were down $20 million from a decade earlier.” - The New York Times
“For all that the audience are loving it, the enthusiastic self-infantilisation feels depressing to me. Is Middle England so deprived of communal singing – the pub, the church, the local choir – it makes this appealing?” - The Guardian (UK)
“Nelsons, 47, has become one of the most unfortunate symbols of all that is irresponsible about the overstretched, overtired, overindulged modern music director. It has been not only deeply frustrating, but genuinely sad, to witness his trajectory.” - The New York Times
“The decision to not renew his contract was made by the BSO’s board of trustees because, beyond our shared desire to ensure our orchestra continues to perform at the highest levels, the BSO and Andris Nelsons were not aligned on future vision,” the BSO said in a statement from its trustees and CEO Chad Smith. - AP
“It’s no secret that this has been a really hard year,” she said. “So I started looking for a new opportunity several months ago.” - The New York Times
The most efficient maestro of his generation — blessed with a brain surgeon’s hands and a barn owl’s ears — he never commanded a premier ensemble. - The Critic
A study of the tree rings in Stradivarius violins, published in January in the journal Dendrochronologia, has revealed the most likely origin of some of the craftsman’s violins: wood from trees growing at high elevation in northern Italy in the same valley that hosted part of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. - The New York Times
The agreement — concerning educational activities at Terra Hall, which Temple purchased from the collapsed University of the Arts and is turning into the nucleus of its planned Center City Philadelphia campus — means the Orchestra can stop pursuing plans to build a $100 million educational annex at the Kimmel Center. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
In a few weeks, this site will be Pacific Electric, a new 750-capacity music venue that Ben Lovett and his venue-developer firm TVG Hospitality have been converting for six years. It’s a small but ambitious entry into a Los Angeles venue landscape that’s recovering from fire and economic woes. - Los Angeles Times
“A study of the tree rings in Stradivarius violins, published in January in the journal Dendrochronologia, has revealed the most likely origin of some of the craftsman’s violins: wood from trees growing at high elevation in northern Italy in the same valley that hosted part of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.” - The New York Times
Composer Laura Bowler wrote the piece, which sets excerpts from Nobel laureate Han Kang’s The White Book, following her mother’s death in an accident after recovering from leukemia. Despite the daunting circumstances and Hannigan’s description, the soprano says, “I don’t think I’ve ever been more calm for a world premiere.” - The Guardian
The government says Live Nation retains its grip on the music industry with strong-arm tactics like demanding that artists use its promotion services in order to perform in its amphitheaters. - The New York Times
As of March 1, Lufthansa Group, citing “customer feedback,” said it would be applying “a new, more generous” carry-on policy for small instruments, such as violins, trumpets or ukuleles. - The New York Times
Music director or chief conductor, formerly, of (among others) the Cincinnati Symphony and the Orchestre de Paris, and currently of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Zurich’s Tonhalle-Orchester, the 63-year-old Järvi will succeed Edward Gardner in London in the fall of 2028. - The Guardian
For Live Nation, the stakes are high — a possible breakup of the company, or at least a disruption of the lucrative business model that over the last 16 years has made it a colossus of the music industry. - The New York Times
